UPDATE: Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" expressed support for legislation to protect Mueller and, at the same time, made clear she has confidence in Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the special counsel.
"It probably wouldn't hurt for us to pass one of those bills," Collins said, adding, "There are some constitutional issues with those bills, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to put that extra safeguard in place given the latest stories, but again, I have faith in the deputy attorney general."
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Collins said likewise that firing Rosenstein would be a "terrible mistake" and would recall the "Saturday Night Massacre," where then-President Richard Nixon sought to remove the special prosecutor investigating him, prompting leaders of the Justice Department to resign rather than quash the probe.
"That didn't end very well," Collins said, alluding to Nixon's eventual resignation in disgrace.
Collins: 'Wouldn't hurt' for Congress to protect Mueller (CNN)
In the wake of finding out President Trump issued an order to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller last June, Democratic lawmakers are calling on Congress to revisit bipartisan legislation that would protect the special counsel in case the president tried again.
Several Democrats and one moderate Republican called for votes on Senate legislation that would prevent presidents from firing special counsels unless a panel of three federal judges agreed with the move, citing the revelations that Trump came close to pushing out Mueller last June. The president backed off only after White House Counsel Donald F. McGahn threatened to quit, according to two people familiar with the episode.
Republican leaders show no new urgency to address the matter, saying that the president’s threats are isolated and in the past.
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Sens. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), responding to rumors in the summer that Trump might fire Mueller, each advanced legislation that would involve a panel of federal judges in any decision to end a special counsel’s tenure. Graham’s bill, co-written by Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and other Democrats, would require a three-judge panel to approve a presidential order to fire a special counsel. Tillis’s bill, written with Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.), would allow a fired special counsel to appeal the president’s decision to a panel of judges, to avoid trampling the president’s executive authority.
Lawmakers have thus far not been able to reconcile the two bills and satisfy Grassley, who says he has “constitutional concerns” with the legislation and will address only one bill in committee.
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The bill’s [sic] authors agree that getting around separation-of-powers concerns requires a 10-day delay before any presidential order to fire the special counsel would take effect. In that time, a fired special counsel could fight the decision before a panel of judges. But senators remained concerned that a court could act unilaterally to extend that timeline, preventing a president with legitimate complaints from acting swiftly.
Full story: Trump’s flirtation with firing Mueller inspires new demands from Democrats to protect the special counsel (WaPo)
Republicans in Congress divided over protecting Mueller from being ousted by Trump (WaPo)